Biorb Tanks

[History man]

Just wondered what peoples opinions are of biorb tanks.

What are the pumps like? I particularly want to know hw noisy the pumps are.

Thanks for any help

 

[Mowbz]

Its a shocking waste of money, use it on a better sized second hand tank.

Sound harsh i know, but its designed as a deterrent lol We get lots of people on here that have bought them, then quickly realise they are a real pain in the backside.

The shape and size limits you on stock, there are very few fish you can put in that will happily live, and i dont mean just swimming around the centrepole in circles looking jolly

I dont know much about the volume as ive never owned one, but can safely say most find the internal filtration inadequate, yet there is no space or available flat surface on which to mount a decent internal filter. Heaters have the same issue, hard to attach a straight heater to a round side....

In all, pretty shocking by all accounts unfortunately. As above, i would recommend spending your money on a decent second hand tank, check eBay, there's always loads.

and

 

[pablothebetta]

They can be fine if stocked and maintained properly - otherwise they're a pain (stocking and maintainance can be a pain in itself IME) The rectangular ones are probably better than the round ones though IMHO.

IMHO...

Pros:
Some may find them more attractive than regular rectangular tanks
Good range of fake decor for them (but it is pretty pricey)

Cons:
The filtration isn't too great
They can't be stocked the same as regular rectangular tanks
The lighting isn't the best
You're stuck with ceramic media
Less surface area than regular rectangular tanks
Very expensive for what they are
The 'orbs' are little more than glorified fish bowls
Acrylic scratches easily
Dirty easily
Maintainance is a pain
Can't really plant them very much (substrate, undergravel filtration and size/shape/filter tube makes it harder to have bogwood for anubias, jara fern, etc)
IME, the pump isn't terribly quiet, though not unbearably noisy either

I've had a BiOrb myself and truly regret it looking back. My betta is so much happier in his rectangular tank than he was in his biorb and it was cheaper too. So much easier to maintain, far better lighting, I can plant it, easier to decorate, can have different substrates, easier and more flexible to stock, and so it continues...

 

[fluttermoth]

Honestly, I'd avoid the Biorbs as well.

I recently saved up some money to buy a new, small tank (I have plenty of big, second hand/bought-on-the-cheap tanks already; I wanted something all in one this time) and I did look very closely at the Biorbs (I'm a sucker for round things; I actually have a goldfish bowl that I keep snails in!) but decided against one.

As the other posters have said, the filtration is really limiting and not very efficient or easy to maintain, stocking is also terribly limited because of the poor surface area; plus the curved sides disort everything horribly.

I went for one of the new AquaNano's in the end; 55l, so not a bad size; excellent built-in filtration sytem, AND a place to hide the heater all in a section at the back and half decent lighting.

A much better, more practical, tank, IMO. I'd look at something like that, rather than a Biorb

 

[CezzaXV]

I'm not going to say anything that hasn't already been said. For the price you pay for a biorb, you could buy a decent "traditional" tank.